With the passing of the November 10th deadline for bid submissions for the HQ for the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog, more than half (55pc) of Irish financial services companies have expressed confidence in Ireland’s chances of seeing off the other bidders so that Dublin becomes the base for the new EU authority.
Earlier this year Ireland entered their pitch to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog and the Compliance Institute polled 230 compliance professionals working in Irish financial services organisations nationwide on what this could mean for the sector in the country.
The results have been published in advance of the Compliance Institute’s Annual Conference on November 14th, which will include the following keynote speakers discussing a range of topics including the new Individual Accountability Framework (IAF) rules, ethics, fintech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), sustainable finance, financial crime compliance, data protection and diversity and inclusion:
• Minister Paschal Donohoe - Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and President of the Eurogroup
• Sharon Donnery, Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation, Central Bank of Ireland
• Tony Cahalan, Head of Anti-Money Laundering Transformation, Central Bank of Ireland
• Seána Cunningham, Director of Enforcement and Anti-money laundering (AML), Central Bank of Ireland
• Cathal Ryan, Deputy Commissioner, Data Protection Commission Ireland
The Survey
The vast majority of those asked (86pc) believe that winning the bid to host the new authority will bolster compliance across the Irish financial services landscape.
Since September 28, 2023, EU member states have been able to submit applications to host the new AMLA[1] and countries have until November 10, 2023 to do so.
Commenting on the survey findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute said:
“Winning the bid to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog would be a major coup for Ireland. Not only would it boost – and create huge opportunities across - Ireland’s financial services sector, it would further enhance our reputation as a centre for strong regulation and enforcement and strengthen the perception of Ireland as a safe place to do business. Having the new AMLA headquartered in Dublin would also have advantages for the local and wider economy and see great employment opportunities for professionals living here.
The new anti-money laundering watchdog will be a significant EU institution, tasked with supervision of obliged entities in the financial services sector in the first instance and eventually, those in the non-financial sector. So hosting the authority here would see some of the eurozone’s riskiest financial firms overseen from Dublin and see Ireland play a pivotal role in the EU fight against financial crime and money laundering. We believe Ireland is well placed to win this bid.”
Further highlights from the Compliance Institute AMLA survey reveal that:
- Half (50pc) of compliance professionals working in the Irish financial services sector believe it “likely” that Ireland will win the bid to host the AMLA, while 5pc deem it “very likely”.
- Four in ten (40pc) believe it “unlikely” that Ireland will win the bid to host the AMLA, while 5pm deem it “not very likely”.
